CHARLOTTE, N.C./August 25, 2026 - Johnson C. Smith University enters the 2026 football season with national recognition, a championship pedigree and a challenging opening schedule.
Head coach Maurice Flowers, however, is not focused on what the Golden Bulls have already accomplished.
“Our focus isn’t on the start. It’s on the finish line,” Flowers said during a preseason press conference at JCSU on August 25. “Our focus is on executing and earning everything on game day.”
The reigning CIAA champions open the season at 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, against Benedict College in the Battle of the Border Classic in Columbia, South Carolina. The matchup features two teams that advanced to the 2025 NCAA Division II playoffs.
“It’s very rare that you can get a high-quality game of this magnitude between two teams that finished at the top of their conferences when you’re less than 75 miles apart,” Flowers said.
Flowers said JCSU has emphasized physicality, discipline, ball security and complementary play on offense, defense and special teams throughout training camp.
While the Golden Bulls are the CIAA reigning champions, Coach Flowers says it’s a new team, with the same high standards.
JCSU must replace 30 seniors from its 2025 championship team, many of whom were part of Flowers’ first recruiting class of 2022. The Golden Bulls added 35 freshmen and approximately 17 transfer-portal players.
“What remains consistent is our standard and our core values,” Flowers said. “We have a number of returning players who understand those expectations.”
Flowers said the departure of so many veteran leaders created challenges during the offseason, but emerging leaders help drive the team forward.
“It was a real changing of the guard,” he said. “We had to learn quickly that no one cares about 2025. Let’s get ready to go for 2026.”
In 2026, all eyes are on the new quarterback, Parker McQuarrie, among other star athletes. McQuarrie earned the starting quarterback position following a close competition with Wagner University transfer Damien Mazil.
Flowers said McQuarrie emerged through his consistency, preparation and attention to detail.
“He is a workaholic,” Flowers said. “He’s always watching film and always on the field with the receivers. When I talk about our team’s hunger, it starts with him.”
A former four-star prospect, McQuarrie began his collegiate career at UCLA before transferring to New Haven and then JCSU.
Following JCSU’s season opener, the Battle of the Border, JCSU will face Albany State University in the Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic on Sunday, Sept. 6, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. The Golden Bulls earned the invitation by capturing their first CIAA championship since 1969.
JCSU will then travel to Winston-Salem State University for a night game Saturday, Sept. 12.
“We start with two classics, and then we travel to Winston-Salem State,” Flowers said. “We earned our way into the first two, and for the third game—we always love playing the Rams.”
The Golden Bulls enter the season ranked No. 23 in the AFCA Division II Coaches Poll. Although JCSU led the CIAA with six preseason all-conference selections, the team was picked to finish second behind Virginia Union.
Flowers said the rankings have not changed the program’s approach.
“We don’t focus on polls or rankings,” he said. “Whether we’re picked second, third or 11th, we’ll take it.”
Flowers believes JCSU has earned recognition as one of the leading programs in both HBCU and Division II football, but he stressed that the Golden Bulls remain hungry.
“To go from a program that wasn’t seen as a power to what we’ve done over the last few years is gratifying, but we’re definitely not satisfied,” Flowers said. “It’s about the finish line—not the start.”
The Golden Bulls are charging ahead to take down the competition in the 2026 season. At the center of the charge, a phrase cultivated by Coach Flowers and local leader, Rick Alias. The Golden Bulls are prepared, hungry and Still Not Done!
